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PETA Attacks Pokemon Black and White 2

Following on from the release of Pokemon Black and White 2, PETA has announced its own flash game that parodies the experience and suggests that while you might find Pokemon fun, it is in fact promoting animal violence and cruelty, especially among children.

The game, entitled Pokemon Black and Blue (get it?) features Pikachu and a few other bandaged pokemon attempting to escape from crazy eyed trainers. Each of their foes features bloody clothing and weaponry, far more violent than any Pokemon game released in an official capacity. While in the real games, Pokemon might be fought against one another, at no point do you ever see a trainer using a baseball bat to brain a Pikachu. In PETA's game, the one attempting to help show you that Pokemon is a violent and cruel game, it turns out to be more violent and cruel than anything released before it.

Good job PETA.

Anyone that gives the game a try will also quickly find themselves bogged down in endless, dreary exposition. If PETA is worried about children being corrupted by the influence of Pokemon games, perhaps it should consider tailoring the gameplay experience to something that they might actually enjoy? There aren't that many young kids that want to sit through minutes of reading to play a second rate Pokemon game.

It should also be noted, that Pokemon as a franchise often promotes caring for the little critters. Professor Oak hammered that point home in the very first game, reminding the player's main rival that the reason he wasn't the champion and the player was, was because he didn't care and love his Pokemon enough - he was only interested in battling.

What do you guys think? Does PETA have a point, or is it simply being an over-reacting ninny?

The official PETA statement released with the game reads: "Much like animals in the real world, Pokémon are treated as unfeeling objects and used for such things as human entertainment and as subjects in experiments. The way that Pokémon are stuffed into pokéballs is similar to how circuses chain elephants inside railroad cars and let them out only to perform confusing and often painful tricks that were taught using sharp steel-tipped bullhooks and electric shock prods ...if PETA existed in Unova, our motto would be: Pokémon are not ours to use or abuse. They exist for their own reasons. We believe that this is the message that should be sent to children."

Ultimately even religious wars are economic, but we can't well ban money. Besides that, economics (or as you say, religion) is the number one reason of death between humans and causes death on the order of millions every. The scale of death inflicted by humans on animals is far, far larger, on the order of hundreds of billions.

PETA kills 99% of the animals that pass through it's shelters...
PETA keeps 98% of the "donations" given to them. They buy things like mansions / jets / FUR COATS!
Its a scam and its leaders should be euthanized as well

I agree, but in the absence of parents bucking up and rearing their young, we will continue to rely on mass media as surrogate parenting. Thus we should be mindful of what lessons are taught through that media without unduly stifling free speech.

It's a ******' video game. A VIDEO GAME with fictional characters. I don't give a **** what the story line is or the history of pokeman, it is only a game. What are they going to do next, start telling kids they're too rough with their stuffed animals? And, perhaps, take the stuffed animal away? These PETA folks need real jobs, rather than sitting in their parents basements until they're 50. I guess what amazes me the most, is that PETA would do anything to save a diseased rat, but turns a blind eye to countrys like Sudan. Where, in Sudan, an estimated 40,000 children per year are kidnapped, raped repeatedly, beaten, and sold into slavery. Or they're just killed. I think perhaps instead of picking on a video game and trying to pick a fight whenever they can, PETA should find something more worthy of their time. Like dissapearing forever. (People for the Ethnic Treatment of Animals=joke)

No one group can tackle every issue, so they focus. Human rights organizations typically do not cover animal rights, and animal rights groups typically do not cover human rights, though they often vocally support one another.
PETA are not suggesting that people not play Pokemon, but rather that the games treat the creatures as independent beings rather than fawning subordinates willing to do whatever their caretaker wishes.
As for it being just a game, would you be fine with a game that simulates child molestation? The argument that games can have any storyline and any content is usually unimaginative. There are almost certainly games you can come up with that you would rather people not play.

Pokemon has the implicit fantastical notion that there are hordes of wild animals that, after being pummeled by you, will want to be your friend and do your bidding. Professor Oak may tell you to love your Pokemon, but saying you love them while sending them to thrash one another until they collapse reveals the bizarre moral schizophrenia the Pokemon universe contains. After all, you never see Pokemon capturing humans and then sending them to battle one another. The humans would presumably refuse to participate. Then is it fair to depict Pokemon as blithly hammering their bretheren without hesitation?
I think PETA is making a good point, and Pokemon could stand to have the creatures act more independently. Not EVERY species should enjoy fighting for you, and individuals should be able to choose to not fight or even leave you if they wish. This point of view is nothing new. There are already many essays and articles in the gaming literature mentioning the bizarre contradictions in Pokemon, including some by the linguistic sorceror Tycho of Penny-Arcade.
Keep in mind that I have played all released Pokemon games except Black & White and am a fan of the series for its fantastic artwork, imaginative creatures, and addictive gameplay. I can be a fan of a game and yet have no trouble accepting criticism of its ridiculous premise. I think games become a form of art when they raise moral quandries without you realizing it. So I hope people continue to play Pokemon - and feel unsettled when they order their beloved companion to fight for its life so you can either amass an army of the critters, become rich, or simply amuse yourself.

Michael vick played pokemon! I knew it!... While I understand PETA's position on this, they're like 12 years too late to pick up this torch. Besides, aren't there real atrocities being committed against animals every day? Why not focus on the more important, more immediate dangers. I dont know about everyone else, but I"m not worrying about getting cancer in 20 years if I've got a gun against my head now.

i donk know... they have a point indeed, but, does really make childrens act the "wrong" way as they see it?
its like violent games, i killed dozens of whores in gta after i paid them and played manhunt, but the simple idea of killing something in real life is sickening

Peat usually have their heart in the right place, but they always go way over the top. They'e one of those organisations where I'm all for the idea behind them, but I can't support them for their actions and rationale.

Sick and tired of your BLAME BUSH!!! mentality. What the hell does your statement have to do with this particular topic? Hmmmm. Absolutely nothing. A waste of space on this comment page. If you think Bush should be imprisoned for halting stem cell research, then tell me this. What should Obama get for totally ignoring the mass genocide going on in Libya and Syria? Does my comment have anything to do with this article? NO. But if you like to go OFF topic, I just asked you a question that i'm sure you'll stagger about like a drunkard trying to answer. Peace out, friend.

PETA porbably going to go after nintendogs... lol..then maby even the movie "how to tame your dragon" then books like "the fire bringer"... and affter they have ****** on everyones praide they'll start their owen vegan PETA church w/ clones of all the poupular books movies and games made just for the them